Filmed over a 10-year period, Making a Murderer is an unprecedented real-life thriller about Steven Avery, a DNA exoneree who, while in the midst of exposing corruption in local law enforcement, finds himself the prime suspect in a grisly new crime. Set in America’s heartland, the series takes viewers inside a high-stakes criminal case where reputation is everything and things are never as they appear.
Making a Murderer is called “Netflix’s Most Significant Show Ever” by Forbes.com. This series is a crime drama with real-life characters. It has a gritty feel that only compares to the HBO drama True Detective but in the real world there are no heroes and everyone is not only suspect but in their own way guilty. This series evokes a multitude of emotions from anger to shame to pity. It is hard to watch and harder to stop watching.
My take on the show? I feel no sympathy for either Steven Avery or Brendan Dassey but am not certain they are guilty. I don’t think they were framed by law enforcement or that the prosecutor misrepresented the facts of the case available to them. I think the attorneys for both the defendants are inadequate and the defendants don’t do much to help themselves. The circus around the case almost makes you forget that a young woman was killed and her body burned. Ultimately the show created more questions than answers for me and it looks like I am not alone.
Making a Murderer is definitely worth the time investment and might be worth watching again to pick apart more details. It will make you angry. It will make you sad. Most importantly it will make you ask questions. If nothing else this documentary does a great job making you question everything and everyone in this case.
